Copyright © 2005 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved
News from the Cherokee Nation, OK
Copyright © 2005 CNO
PORUM, OKLAHOMA - Callie Menie, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, was recently named a finalist in a writing contest which earned her an all-expense paid trip to Hollywood, Florida.
Steve Swogger, agriculture liaison with the Cherokee Nation and Callie Menie at the Intertribal Agriculture Council meeting in Hollywood, Florida. 
"It wound up being the experience of a lifetime," said Menie, who spent her first night in Florida in the hospital after bumping her head on a counter in the airport restroom shortly after arriving.
After recovering from the mishap and arriving at her destination a day late, she was able to enjoy her trip and soon learned that she was not just a finalist, but the first place winner. She was recognized at the Intertribal Agriculture Council meeting which she was invited to attend.
The writing contest was sponsored by Native Women in Agriculture (NEIA) and the theme the essays were to follow was, "The Role of Native Women in Agriculture: Past, Present and Future."
"Native American women were the first farmers and they owned the farms and passed them on to their daughters," Menie said.
Her essay was based on a true story of four generations of women in her family. It began by discussing a letter written by her great grandmother in a family cookbook. The letter told of the Cherokee tale of the legend of the corn and went on to discuss the trials her grandmother experienced while raising four children, tending to a sick husband and farming the 80 acres that Menie and her mother live on today.
"I am truly proud of the genuine steadfast feminine gene pool that I come from that is truly American," Menie wrote in her essay.
Menie, a 15-year-old freshman at Porum High School, is no stranger to writing and writing contests. She has had numerous poems and short stories published in the Young American Writer's Anthology and the American Youth Foundation's annual publication.
"This is the first time I've ever won something that is national and got something like this," Menie said.
"It about floored me," said Ann Menie, Callie's mother who accompanied her on the trip. "Callie was really pleased. I didn't expect someone from this little small town to win. I'm sure proud of her."
| Related Cherokee Nation contact information: |
|
Mike Miller, Cherokee Nation Director of Communications Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2210) Fax: 918-458-5580 E-mail: Communications@cherokee.org
Larry Daugherty, Advertising Manager |
Steven Swogger, Agriculture Liaison Natural Resources Department Phone: 918-456-0671 (ext.2546) FAX: 918-458-7673 E-mail: sswogger@cherokee.org
Bradley D. Peak, Cherokee Nation |